Liturgy, Sacraments & Church Documents
- Catholic Liturgy Library — This site is dedicated to providing accurate historical and current information about the liturgies of the Latin (Roman) rite of the Catholic Church. Currently this includes the missal of 1970 (Novus Ordo) and the missal of 1962 (Tridentine).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) — The term catechesis (which in Greek means ‘to make resound like an echo’) was adopted by the nascent Church to indicate the primordial duty to make disciples. Over the centuries, there existed numerous catechisms, or texts that contain the proclamation of salvation and the fundamental Christian truths, formulated in a clear way so that their understanding, apprehension and lively reception are made easier. This latest ‘official’ catechism serves as the basis and the point of reference for the evangelical activities of the Church. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is also available on the Vatican web site. Available at Amazon.com
. - Summa Theologica — Universally hailed as the greatest triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas, arguably the greatest thinker and ‘Doctor of Doctors’ of the Church. This 5-volume masterpiece presents a systematic and organic treatment of several thousand important theological questions, ranging from God, the Trinity and the nature of Christ, to the nature and psychology of the human person and the nature and mission of the Church. St. Thomas considers creation in its natural light, as well as under the operations of grace, including discussions of morality, redemption, the sacraments and the operation of divine providence. The scope of topics is enormous, and these few hardly do justice to the contents. Available at Amazon.com
- Documents of the Fathers of the Church
- EWTN Document Library (Index, Search) — A treasure trove of documents on topics in theology and dogma, Church history, spirituality and inspiration, family life and cultural issues.
- Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church — Paralleling the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is this compendium of the social doctrine of the Church.
- General Instruction of the Roman Missal (also available in PDF format) — This is the 2003 edition of the explication of the norms of the post-conciliar novus ordo Mass (or Ordinary Form of the Mass). It delineates the normal requirements for the general structure of the Mass, the duties of the Religious and lay faithful, role and function of eucharistic ministers, layout and design of the church, choice of music and readings, etc. (The goal of this is to ensure fidelity to Church teachings, but not everything gets followed correctly. There has been a lot of unauthorized artistic license “in the spirit of Vatican II.”) While the 2003 edition is the current standard, expect to see a change to accompany the release of a revised English translation of the Ordo Missæ by Pope Benedict XVI (cf. here and here, for example). As the GIRM applies specifically to the post-conciliar Mass (the Ordinary Form) and not the Tridentine Mass (the Extraordinary Form) that was reestablished by Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, also expect to see the issuance of specific norms for the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal.
The Compleat Gentleman
Transformation in Christ